CONCERNS over crime have been raised at a public meeting organised by Gwent Police for residents of two Monmouthshire villages.

Around a dozen people attended the meeting at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, with Sergeant Nigel Callard and PC Louise Thorpe appearing on behalf of the local force.

The meeting had been called in light of a recent spate of break-ins in Undy last month, which saw several high-value items taken from four addresses in the village.

Sergeant Callard told those in attendance that a “local man” had been arrested and subsequently released on April 23.

Magor county councillor Lisa Dymock, whose house had also been broken into this year, was present along with fellow councillor Francis Taylor.

Several residents at the meeting expressed concerns over an increase in crime in the area, despite overall crime statistics having fallen by 10.5 per cent on last year.

Sergeant Callard said: “Somebody had seen someone running from the side of the house, but they didn’t ring us until 4pm the next day. You’ve got to ring us at the time.”

One resident replied: “With antisocial behaviour, we get told that there isn’t a problem but there is, and when we go to report it we’re stuck in queues on the phone for 20 or 30 minutes.”

Another resident said that he felt there “wasn’t a problem in the area”.

He added: “I’ve living in London, Oxfordshire and Bristol before moving here. Nothing happens here.”

Cllr Taylor suggested that improvements are made to the GwentNow community messaging system, proposing that “more context” be given to the respective crimes reported in the bulletins.

Several residents acknowledged that police in Severnside “are stretched” but some still felt that a “more visible presence” was needed on the streets.